Dozens of people have lost their lives in a violent attack perpetrated by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an affiliate of the Islamic State, in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Local officials report that approximately 20 of the deceased were churchgoers attending a night vigil in the town of Komanda when the assailants targeted them.
Witnesses recount the horrifying details of the attack, which also saw nearby shops and businesses being looted and set ablaze. The ADF, initially formed in Uganda in the 1990s under the pretext of protecting Muslim interests, has since moved its base into DRC where it indiscriminately attacks civilians of all faiths. The group has increasingly aligned itself with the Islamic State's Central African Province, which includes other terrorist groups operating in the region.
According to Dieudonne Duranthabo, a civil society leader in Komanda, the search for additional victims continues, and he fears more bodies may yet be discovered. “More than 21 people were shot dead inside and outside [the church] and we have recorded at least three charred bodies and several houses burned,” he stated. Local priest Father Aime Lokana Dhego corroborated the death toll, reporting at least 31 fatalities and several injuries among the members of the Eucharistic Crusade movement, alongside the distressing accounts of kidnapped youths whose fates remain unknown.
The United Nations-supported Radio Okapi reported even higher casualties, estimating the death toll to be as high as 43, although an army spokesperson confirmed only 10 fatalities. This recent surge of violence poses significant challenges to the DRC, particularly in its resource-rich Ituri province, which has been a battleground for various armed factions for decades.
In 2021, DRC sought assistance from Ugandan military forces to combat the ADF; nevertheless, attacks continue unabated, indicating a troubling escalation in the conflict and the persistence of extremist violence in the region.
